Johnny West | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/profile/johnny-west
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The new Libyan oil minister's secret weapon: transparency | Johnny Westhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/26/libyan-oil-minister-transparency
The next minister should publish every contract Gaddafi's regime made with an oil company – that would shake up the industry<p>Libya's next minister of oil already has a tough job. The industry, which produced 1.8m barrels of oil a day just six months ago, has all but collapsed, and experts disagree about how long it will take to get going again.</p><p>There are rumours of dark deals done with oil majors in return for finance and humanitarian support during the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/aug/22/libya-timeline-interactive" title="Guardian: Libya timeline: six months of conflict - interactive">conflict of the past six months</a>. And then there's the suspicion, never far from the surface, that the first western intervention in the Arab spring was really about lots of lovely, light <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/aug/25/libya-oil-deals-transparent-scrutiny" title="Guardian: 'Libya's oil deals need to be transparent'">Libyan crude</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/26/libyan-oil-minister-transparency">Continue reading...</a>LibyaOilCommoditiesMuammar GaddafiMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaArab and Middle East unrestBusinessWorld newsFri, 26 Aug 2011 09:38:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/26/libyan-oil-minister-transparencyPhotograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA / Rex FeaturesMustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of Libya's National Transitional Council, at a press conference in Benghazi. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA / Rex FeaturesPhotograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA / Rex FeaturesMustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of Libya's National Transitional Council, at a press conference in Benghazi. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA / Rex FeaturesJohnny West2011-08-26T09:38:03ZJohnny West: Journalism is the real jihadhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/03/press-freedom-censorship
<strong>Press freedom: </strong>Iraq is beginning to develop a community of journalists who are committed to independent reporting<p>On <a href="www.unesco.org.uk/WPFD09.htm" title="">World Press Freedom Day</a> we should celebrate the success of independent journalism in Iraq, against all the odds and despite the many, continuing dangers.</p><p>No newspaper in Iraq ever covered the fall of Saddam, that spring of 2003. The day after American troops and tanks took control of central Baghdad, and crowds toppled the statue of Saddam in that iconic image in Firdows Square, the operations manager of the Baath Party's official newspaper al-Thawra walked into the offices and asked the editor where the morning paper was.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/03/press-freedom-censorship">Continue reading...</a>MediaPress freedomIraqMiddle East and North AfricaWorld newsSun, 03 May 2009 09:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/03/press-freedom-censorshipJohnny West2009-05-03T09:30:00Z